The Aftermath of the Food Fight!

Thank you so much for everyone who participated in the FOOD FIGHT last week! And thank you for allowing me to participate. Definitely glad I plunged in!

I had a great time working on this story as well as all the other wonderful food fight wars. Such a fun, creative way to get some ideas flung around! I am really looking forward to reading the finished stories and I know the Politician and PT are excited to hear them!

Here is my finished Food Fight Story! I would love to hear what you think. Thanks and enjoy!

On the Way Home From Grandma's

Everyone was tired,

cranky and upset.

And from the back someone yelled,

"why aren't we home yet??"

Mom was looking frazzled,

as Dad stared at the road,

these long drives back from Grandma's

were always worse when it snowed.

SCREECH! SHWOMP! KAPOOM! and HISSSsssss?!?

The windshield went solid white!

One look at Mom and Dad

said it'd be a longer night...

First, Dad pulled out his phone

to get a tow here right away.

But, "I'm sorry dear," he murmured,

"it'll be an hour or more delay."

"WE'LL STARVE!" Moaned sis behind me

through the baby's high pitched howl.

With Mom lost in a silent stare,

Dad's face began to scowl.

"At least we have the turkey,

with the fixin's, sides and sweets!"

As these words came out my lips,

Mom's stare turned on the backseats.

It's a look I've never seen before,

that one in my Mom's eyes,

still sis and I cannot forget her smirk

as she started throwing fries!

.                
Let’s get her!” I said laughing,

.                Then unwrapped the jello slow.


.                POP – Sis ripped off a lid.


.                I flung first – But Mom ducked the blow. Jennifer Young

.                 

.                
It met the windshield with a THWACK!


.                And slid down to the dashboard.


.                Before dear Dad could catch one bit


.                It hit my magnetic chessboard.

 Julie Rowan-Zoch

.                 

.                Dad tried to steer through jello smear


.                and narrowly missed a truck.


.                KERSPLAT, sis launched her chocolate Mousse,


.                Mom gasped and prepared to chuck.
 Joanna

.                 

.                I rolled the stuffing into


.                a gooey ball of attack


.                And let it fly at Mom's head But - WHACK –

.                it bounced right back!
 
Lauri Meyers

.                 

.                That must be some tough hairspray;

.                here Mom, my juicy juice will get through

.                 that beehive SQUIRT!
 
DonnaLouise

.                 

.                But Mom was the pro,


.                She was the one who made the food,


.                KERSCHLOOP, she scooped up her pie


.                And aimed it at her brood.
 Sylvia Liu 



.                 

.                Having started the day dry,


.                now all covered in pie,

.                we the children began to cry.


.                SPUTTER! SNORT! HONK!
 
Anonymous 



.                 

.                 
Whaa, whaa, wait a minute,

.                 I'm not wasting this." I wiped the pie from my face

.                 and PLOPPED it on a plate.

.                 Then I threw a radish at my sis-BOINK.
 DonnaLouise

.                  

.                 
A radish sticking from her face,

.                 Her scowl proved I was in disgrace;

.                 I ducked, she threw turkey innards

.                 SCHLEPPED, ooh Patricia Nozell

It was then, I’m sad to say it,

that dear Dad opened the door,

with big, wide eyes in a young man stared

and got more then he did ask for.

He said, as he stood dripping,

those turkey pieces all on the snow,

“I’m here to help and pull you out.”

It was finally time to go.

Sis and I cheered in triumph

the battle had been such fun

as we squeezed out into the cold

we each felt that we had won.

Silently, we all stood

sticky and gooey from the fight

while the tow truck hooked up and pulled

our car was stuck in that snow tight!

We thanked the young man quickly

as one by one climbed in our seats.

He nodded once and winked as he turned,

“those looked like real good eats!”

The car filled up with laughter

while Dad pushed it into drive.

“And we still have some safe for dinner,”

if there is any left when we arrive!”

SMACK!

High Heeled Run (aka Miss Piggy goes to Annapolis)

I added in an extra fun run in November because a high heel run is something I have wanted to do. Luckily, they seem to pop up a lot in October and November with October being Breast Cancer awareness month and high heel runs generally raise funds to support organizations working to fight breast cancer.

Healing in Heels Dash for Breast Cancer was on November 11 at the Annapolis Towne Centre. The race was an up and back on one side of the boulevard. By the time I got to the turn around, I was done with running in heels! 550 doesn't seem so far until you're about 200 in and wondering why this was a good idea. Haha. It is much more difficult to run in heels then I thought it would be. Yes, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't think about how off all the running mechanics would be. The Dad and the kids came to watch (and enjoy some post race food) and the Dad told me the two first place finishers (both guys...yup) had definitely practiced how to run in heels. They apparently had better form then the rest of us. Haha.

Bad form, great fun!

There was a costume contest associated with the run and the winner received a year supply of Saucony shoes (four pairs!) So I decided to run as Miss Piggy. She's always so classy in her heels.

Got Squeezed?

To keep with the year theme of raising support and awareness from the Colon Cancer Alliance, I added a decal to the back of my shirt also. During the month of October, the CCA promotes "Screen THIS too!"

Piggy and Barbie

Sadly, I didn't even come in second in the costume contest! I knew there would be at least one guy in drag in the top two, but I didn't count on Barbie showing up in her box to run. Nice Job! Barbie won. As it turned out, Barbie in a Box is the director of Breast Cancer Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center which was the beneficiary of the race.

As we finished the race, Save the Coconuts had a few fun items for racers: a shot glass and a treat.

Yup.

This race had the best post-race food of any race yet! A few of the restaurants in the Towne Centre were out with food samples for the racers and spectators. While listening to the live band, Gordon Biersch provided beer to those with a race number (the Dad drank mine,) Cadillac Ranch had some delicious sliders, Philly & Flash offered up some amazing loaded fries, and Paladar served creamy coconut flan and thick hot chocolate. And of course there was water for everyone. So filling we almost didn't need to go to dinner! It also looked like there were a few boxes of "usual" post race food that they didn't need since the restaurants really provided a great spread!

Things I learned/relearned from a High Heel Race:

1. Don't run in heels without practice unless being chased by something/ someone or one of the kids is about to fall off something way to high.
2. Feather boas are a very popular accessory at this race. Boas and tall socks.
3. I really enjoy dressing up for a race! This was so much fun. But it is hard to see over that nose and impossible to eat or drink with it on! I'm taking suggestions for next year. Any ideas???
4. Having spectators you know (husband and kids) makes the race even more fun. I love to hear them cheering on the side. And then the "Mom, you weren't very fast" at the finish is always nice too. Haha.
5. Post-race food will make me sign up to run in heels again!

We had told the kids we would eat out at a restaurant after the race, so we moseyed up to Cadillac Ranch for dinner. I still had most of my costume on and was recognized but some other spectators who cheered a bit. Now that was nice!

I also ran this race as part of the Virtual Run for Sandy Relief. A couple of bloggers put together a Virtual Run for the month of November to help raise funds for the Red Cross to aid with Sandy Relief in New Jersey and New York. According to an email at the beginning of December, the effort raised $1,426! Awesome!!

A Toilet Tale

I just found this gem as I was going through some old documents. This was written as an entry for some sweepstakes by a bathroom related object a little over a year and a half ago. Enjoy!

Sure, my one-year-old likes to eat toilet paper. And yes, she thinks the water in the toilet is her own personal pool. But this toilet tale is not about her. My three-year-old has a mini-toilet in his room to use at nap and at night. One day, during naptime, I heard a lot of movement upstairs. I went up to discover, yes he used the potty, but he was completely naked, the floor buried in pooped covered wipes and the poop was nowhere to be found. I asked him where it was and he told me “I put it outside.” Wondering what he really meant, I cleaned up the mess and put him back to bed. When he woke up from his nap, I was met in the room by a wave of stench. I hunted through the room for the source of the smell while my son kept repeating, “Mom, the poop is outside.” After one last sweeping look of the room, I noticed a small spot on the window frame between the frame and the AC unit. I opened the window to find, my son was telling the truth. Squeezed through the gap, the poop was outside.


So you can see just how adorable they were a year and a half ago:

PT at 1

The Politician at 3

 I could write a book on PT and toilet related tales...

Kid Spa Day, Not so Relaxing

Growing up, I vowed to myself, that if I ever had a daughter I would let her grow her hair long if she wanted too. I vowed not to cut her hair into the "bowl cut." Everyone knows the hair cut. My sisters and I all had it. the look where it seems the "stylist" sat a bowl on your head and trimmed around the bottom.

Well, all my vowing was in vain. My daughter, PT, has a new do.

The kids were being so nice and quiet on Tuesday morning. PT had joined the boys in their room and they were all laughing and talking together. Even the Enforcer was adding in his coos. About 10-15 minutes after I heard them all wake up, PT comes in to see me to ask for something. And I see it. Or don't see it. Her hair that was past her shoulders when she went to bed is gone on one side of her head. Yup, chopped off. Not there. And she tells me, "I need to throw my hair away, my brother cut it so no more tangles." Well great.

PT has pretty fine hair which tangles quite easily and I had been asking her if she wanted to make it a little shorter, but apparently the Politician has some persuasive skills of his own. He had gotten out a pair of their craft scissors and chopped off a few inches of his sister's hair on various places on her head. Not such a good look.

Politician's Scissor Skillwork

Kinda like half a mullet

Back after I fixed it. 

So before breakfast we got to fix that up. Luckily I was able to keep some of the length in the back (it's about to the nape of her neck), but she has some pretty short bangs now.


Now, I thought we were done with the spa adventure for the day, but PT had other ideas.

For the first time in awhile I got all 3 kiddos down for a nap at the same time. AND they were all quiet! I should have known this was a bad sign. I went up to check on them and the boys were both resting quietly (the Politician wasn't asleep, but he was reading quietly.)

As I opened PT's bedroom door I heard her scurrying around trying to hide something. She had gone into my room and pulled out pink and purple nail polish and tried to paint her finger and toe nails. Surprisingly, there wasn't paint all over much besides her. She didn't spill the bottles or pour them on herself. I looked like she really had tried to use the nail polish brush.

After cleaning her up with A LOT of nail polish remover, we had a good talk that I'm sure had little to no effect. (Evidence: 2 days later she had found the small bottle of baby powder in our room and poured it all over herself and her bed. At least it smelled nice in there...)

My last spa day was much more enjoyable then the Day at the Kid Inspired Spa...

What's a Little Pee Among Friends

Here's a little laugh for you:

A few of the of neighborhood kids were over in our backyard playing with the Politician and PT while I watched from the kitchen window making dinner. I had the window open since the weather has been AMAZING and then I could hear while my eyes were busy elsewhere.

All of a sudden I hear "WHAT ARE HE DOING?!?!" from the little girl who lives next door to us. I look outside and I see the Politician pulling his pants back up. Yup, that's right, back up.

So I call him inside and he tells me he "just had to pee." Apparently the bathroom, that he past on his way to come talk to me, is too far to walk too. He proceeds to tell me that one of the Dad's friends pees outside and that makes it ok. I assure him that it is not ok to pee in the backyard and send him back out with his friends.

I then call the Dad an relay this story and learn that on their disc golf adventure over the weekend, where the Politician accompanied the Dad and friends around a few courses (most at State Parks,) they would pee in the woods. When the Dad came home from work, he had a nice talk with our oldest son about when it is ok to pee outside. Oh the joys of boys!

Vomit is Never Convenient

Moving, itself, is not fun. Where you are moving to, the opportunities available where ever you are going maybe fun and exciting, but the actual packing, looking for a new place, leaving the old place and all the cleaning in between is not fun. Then add a few sick kids. Awesome right?

For the past few weeks we have been looking for a new place to call home in hopes that we could be in said new place before The Dad starts his new job. All was well until we put an application in on a property. Then we were in the "waiting place." While in the "waiting place," a lot of thinking happens (or doesn't sometimes.) Thinking and worrying, in my case. Especially after the obligatory 3 day waiting period and still no word yea or nay. The I start getting antsy and begin to worry about a back up plan. As part of this back up plan, we decided to go look at a few more places late in the today.

Looking back there were signs that we should have stayed home: relator called while we're driving over to tell us two of the properties still have tenants and need more notice to be shown, two others do not allow pets (though why they don't make a note of that on the public pages I have no idea,) one other has been rented already, leaving only one property to see. (Which when we went wasn't even high enough on The Dad's list that I didn't get out of the car, I stayed and fed the Enforcer.)

So we see the ONE property and now everyone is hungry and a bit cranky so we head out for a nice dinner. (Mistake number two for the evening, we should have just gone to Chick-fil-a, but that's a post for another day.) Everyone eats a bit, though I might have been the only one who semi-enjoyed myself. Got everyone back in the car and headed for home.

Now, let me give you a few facts about the Bay Bridge. It is one of the longest over water structures in the world at 4.2 miles long. It is actually two side by side bridges. There is no where to pull over on the bridge or for over a mile after getting off the bridge. On this bridge is where PT began vomiting.

The Politician is hollering from the back seat "Stop, stop! She's Sick!" I immediately begin looking for a place to pull over, knowing full well there is no such place. And as the poor little girl empties her stomach the smell makes it's way to the front of the van. Vicious. Pink lemonade does not smell good on the way back out. Whoa. Though apparently it does not bother the Politician because he kept asking us to close the windows back up.

Luckily, I keep a change of clothes for everyone in the van (except the adults, though I've been meaning to change that because you never know when it would be good to have a spare shirt in the car.) We pulled over at the first gas station and cleaned PT off, changed her, and got as much out of the carseat as possible. It was here I was informed that the Politician had bug bites on his tush and I would need to see them when we got home. Glorious.

The remainder of our drive was fortunately uneventful.

Get PT in her bed and check out these bug bites of the Politician's. NOT BUG BITES. At first we think it might be some kind of rash, possibly poison ivy. Quickly, went to check PT and she's fine. The Politician has some kind of itchy blotches all over his legs, butt, back, arms and even one on his face. So he gets stuck in the tub with some oatmeal, while I freak out accordingly. We go through the whole day and evening and cannot figure out where he got this rash or what it is from. Our best guess is there was some thing at dinner with milk in it and he's having an allergic reaction. So he got a dose of benadril, some anti-itch cream and he catches a ride on the dreamland express.

All in all a terribly unproductive evening because in my inbox when we got home is a note from the realtor that our application has been approved. Awesome.